From 1 April 2026 the limit on tax audits stopped being a rule each member applied on trust and became a gate on the UDIN portal. The number did not change. The counting did, because a system now does it.
The number is not new; the enforcement is
ICAI's announcement of 30 July 2025 said the existing limit of 60 tax audit assignments per member would be retained. What changed is the instrument behind it. The Chartered Accountants (Limit on Number of Tax Audits) Guidelines, 2025 were notified in the Gazette on 25 July 2025 under section 15(2)(fa) of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. They came into force on 1 April 2026 and supersede Chapter VI of the Council General Guidelines, 2008, which stayed valid until 31 March 2026. The UDIN Directorate's announcement of 11 February 2026 applied a ceiling on UDIN generation from the same date.
What counts
The ceiling applies to four UDIN sub-categories, and only these:
- Form 3CA, 3rd proviso to section 44AB
- Form 3CB, section 44AB(a)
- Form 3CB, section 44AB(b)
- Form 3CB (Combined), section 44AB
Paragraph 10 of the Guidelines keeps out audits under section 44AB(c), (d) and (e), the cases under sections 44AE, 44ADA and 44AD. Paragraph 11 keeps out revised reports.
Six rules that decide the number
1. The year is the year of signing. The Explanation to paragraph 6 says that where acceptance and signing fall in different financial years, the year in which the report is signed decides. ICAI's FAQ Q2 adds that the ceiling is computed on the date of signing the report, not the date of generating the UDIN.
That puts every FY 2025-26 audit signed from April 2026 into the first counted year, FY 2026-27, together with any older year still being signed.
2. Each year of the same client is a separate assignment. Paragraph 12.1 and FAQ Q7. Clearing two pending years for one client in the same financial year uses two.
3. One assessee and one assessment year make one assignment. The audit of the head office and branch offices of an entity is a single assignment (paragraph 12.3), and so is the audit of one or more branches of the same entity by one member (paragraph 12.4). FAQ Q8 treats multiple UDINs under the counted sub-categories for the same assessee and assessment year as one.
4. Firms do not pool. For a firm the limit is 60 per partner (paragraphs 7 and 12(b)). A partner in more than one firm, or who also accepts audits individually, has one aggregate limit across all of them (paragraphs 8 and 9), and the UDIN system aggregates every tax audit UDIN a member generates (FAQ Q4).
5. A joint audit counts for each member. Paragraph 12.2 takes into account assignments accepted "singly or in combination with any other Chartered Accountant in practice or firm".
6. A part-time practising partner is left out of the firm's reckoning (paragraph 12.5).
Where the portal changes the arithmetic
Two of ICAI's FAQ answers are mechanical, and both matter in September.
- Changing a UDIN's sub-category from one that is not counted to one that is reduces the available limit, and changing it the other way gives the count back (FAQ Q9).
- The portal checks the section 44AB criteria before it allows a sub-category. Where an assignment does not meet them, FAQs Q10 and Q11 say it does not qualify as a tax audit for that sub-category, and because a UDIN is still mandatory, it is generated under Audit & Assurance Functions, "Any other Audit not covered above". The checks are set out in UDIN for tax audit.
Count your register
Count your 60 the way the Guidelines count it
Six sample reports are loaded to show each rule. Remove them, add your own, and pick the year of signing.
- Client AAY 2026-27 · Form 3CB, section 44AB(a) · signed 2026-09-20Counts
- Client A, branchAY 2026-27 · Form 3CB, section 44AB(a) · signed 2026-09-24Same assessee and assessment year, already counted
- Client B, an older yearAY 2025-26 · Form 3CB, section 44AB(b) · signed 2026-06-10Counts
- Client CAY 2026-27 · Form 3CB, section 44AB(e) · signed 2026-08-0144AB(c), (d) and (e) sit outside the limit
- Client A, revisedAY 2026-27 · Form 3CB, section 44AB(a) · signed 2026-11-02 · revisedA revised report is not a separate assignment
- Client DAY 2025-26 · Form 3CB (Combined), section 44AB · signed 2026-03-28Signed in FY 2025-26, so it counts in that year
Rules from the Chartered Accountants (Limit on Number of Tax Audits) Guidelines, 2025 (Gazette, 25 July 2025) and ICAI’s FAQs on the UDIN ceiling. A joint audit counts for each member who accepts it (paragraph 12.2), which a single register cannot see. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Keep the record
Paragraph 13 requires every member in practice to keep a record of the tax audit assignments accepted and signed in each financial year, "in the format as may be provided by the Council". The register above is a working count, not that format.
One point to watch
The Guidelines say they are issued in respect of tax audit assignments under section 44AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961, and the counted UDIN sub-categories are Forms 3CA and 3CB. Tax audits under section 63 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, in Form No. 26, begin with tax year 2026-27. We have not found an ICAI notification restating the Guidelines for section 63, so check the UDIN Directorate's announcements before those reports are signed.
Questions this answers
How many tax audits can a CA sign in a year?
60 counted tax audit assignments in a financial year, from 1 April 2026. In a firm the limit is 60 per partner, and a partner's assignments across firms and in an individual capacity are added together.
Is the 60 tax audit limit counted by date of signing or date of UDIN?
By the date of signing the tax audit report. The Guidelines take the financial year in which the report is signed, and ICAI's FAQs say the ceiling is computed on that date, not on the date of UDIN generation.
Do 44AD, 44ADA and 44AE tax audits count towards the limit?
No. Audits under section 44AB(c), (d) and (e), which relate to sections 44AE, 44ADA and 44AD, are excluded, and so are revised tax audit reports.
Do head office and branch audits count separately?
No. The audit of the head office and branches of an entity is one assignment, and multiple UDINs for the same assessee and assessment year are treated as one.
Does a joint tax audit count for both auditors?
Yes. The Guidelines count assignments accepted singly or in combination with any other Chartered Accountant in practice or firm, so it counts for each member who accepts it.